ingrowing

6.5

A nail or hair that pushes into the skin and causes pain and swelling

adjective
/ˈɪŋˌɡroʊɪŋ/

: encarnado

He suffered from an ingrowing toenail that made walking painful.

Examples

She has an ingrowing toenail that is very painful.
If left untreated, an ingrowing hair can become infected.
The doctor explained how to prevent ingrowing nails with proper nail care.
An ingrowing hair can lead to infection.
He suffered from an ingrowing toenail that made walking painful.
If left untreated, an ingrowing hair can become infected.
The doctor explained how to prevent ingrowing nails with proper nail care.

Synonyms

ingrown

vsingrowing

8 6.6

A nail or hair that grows into the skin causing pain and a small bump

is identical in meaning but uses the present participle or -ing form

How Severe

abscessed

Specialized

1 9.0

infected

5 3.3

ingrowing

6.5

normal

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

ingrowing positive

Morphology

ingrowing = growing (semi-transparent) = in + grow + ing

The meaning 'growing inward or into something' is fairly inferable from 'growing' plus 'in-', but the specific medical sense of a nail or hair entering flesh is somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Ingrowing comes from the parts in- ('in') and grow ('to get bigger'), so it literally means 'growing in' rather than out. That's why an ingrowing nail or hair grows into the skin and can cause pain.